


The Strands of Our Lives Are Woven Together

by RovingRomy



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Stream (Critical Role), Primarily Keyleth POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-09 02:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10401564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RovingRomy/pseuds/RovingRomy
Summary: When Keyleth walks away from Zephra to start her Aramente, she's not sure she believes she'll succeed. Then she meets a half-elf rogue and his group of friends. That's when her destiny starts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for onceandfuturekiki's birthday, and I'm actually really proud of how it turned out. The title is taken from a quote from the movie Portrait of Jennie (one of Kiki's favorites, and the prompt she gave me for the fic): "The strands of our lives are woven together, and neither the world nor time can tear them apart."

Keyleth tries not to look back one last time as she heads down the mountain, away from Zephra. She’s already turned around to look at her father twice, and she feels that every time she looks back, every time she even feels the impulse, she’s showing just how weak she is.

She fights it, but she just can’t stop herself, so she slows down, turning her head around to look back, but she’s too far away to see anything now, the figure of her father fading into the fog.

Taking a deep breath, Keyleth fights back the tears and walks on, toward her destiny.

* * *

  
It’s a three day walk to Stillbend, with two nights in between the days. The first night, camping among the trees, being able to see the stars through the branches and leaves, is actually calming. Nature is her domain, it comforts her, and sleeping among the trees makes her feel safe, and for the first since she left home that morning, her tears stop completely.

The next night, though, isn’t as calm and comforting. She’s closer to town now, and she knows that there are probably townspeople who go out to the woods to hunt, to fish, or to do any number of things regular people living in regular towns do. It takes her a long time to sleep, every sound around her alerting her senses more than usual. At one point she’s sure she hears the swooshing of flying arrows, followed by the low grumble of what sounds like a bear. A few moments later she thinks she hears the low murmur of a woman’s voice, followed by another small bear sound, but she can’t make out the words and she starts to wonder if she’s imagining it.

It’s a difficult night, and Keyleth tosses and turns, unable to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time.

In the morning, as she starts the final leg of her journey toward Stillbend, her eyelids are heavy and her bones ache from the lack of sleep, and she wonders if it’s always going to be like this.

* * *

When she finally walks into Stillbend the light from the day is fading, and there’s a man walking down the main street, using a long rod of some kind to light the lamps that line the road. Despite the darkening sky, there are still so many people on the street, more people than she’s ever seen in one place, and her heart starts pounding in fear.

Keyleth has never been in a town before. Her father had described them to her, trying to prepare her for what she’d come across in her journeys, but there’s no way his descriptions could have prepared her for the amount of people, the amount of noise, the way the buildings are so close together, the way they’re all filled with people as well.

And this is supposed to be a small town.

Swallowing past the growing lump in her throat, she fights back the tears and walks toward the man lighting the lamps. “Excuse me,” she says, her voice quiet as she tries to keep it from shaking. He doesn’t respond, doesn’t give any indication that he’s even heard her. “Excuse me?” she tries again, a little louder, very unhappy with the quake in her voice.

He looks over at her but doesn’t say anything, his eyebrow raising up, impatience pouring from his essence.

“Um, would you be kind enough to direct me to an inn?” she asks.

The man still doesn’t speak, pointing to a place behind her. She turns to look, squinting as she reads the signs that line the street. Finally, a ways down, she sees a simple sign that reads “Swampside Inn”.

“Thank you,” she says, turning around, only to find that the man has moved down the street to light another lamp. “Thank you!” she calls a little louder. No response.

She turns and walks toward the inn, trying to maker herself as small as possible, pulling her shoulders in, hoping that nobody bumps into her.

The amount of people inside of the inn is worse than the street, but the smell is better. There’s definitely a very present scent of what she assumes is just people, a lot of people crammed into one space. But covering that is the smell cooking meat, beef, she thinks, warm and welcoming.

The scent is calming, but the sound, the overwhelming, unfamiliar din of dozens of people in an enclosed space sets her on edge as she navigates her way through the crowd, trying to get up to the bar. She hears some loud shouting from the corner, a countdown, and she looks over, seeing a man larger than any she’s ever seen - a Goliath? - and a gnome, both downing a cask of ale, seemingly racing to see who finishes first. The large man slams his glass down first, letting out a triumphant roaring noise, but it’s only a few seconds before the gnome slams his glass down as well.

Finally, Keyleth makes her way to the bar.  Behind it is a halfling, standing on a stool so he can see over the side of the counter. He’s not quite at eye level with her, and his smile is pleasant and kind. “What’ll it be, miss?”

“Um,” she starts, nervously pushing her hair behind her ear. “I - I was told to find an inn and rent a room?” She winces, hearing the way it sounds. “I need a room,” she amends, trying to put some strength behind her words. “I have enough to maybe pay for a few nights and I - I was told there would be jobs posted?” Keyleth tries to remember everything she was told and the order in which she’s supposed to do it, but the voices around her are so loud.

The barkeep looks her over closely and Keyleth feels herself pulling her body in even further, her arms coming up to cross over her body. Finally he looks into her eyes, the smile still on his face. “You’re one of them Ashari, ain’t you?”

“Yeah. Yes,” she responds, unsure of whether or not she should be concerned that this man knows of her people, wondering too late if maybe she should have lied.

“Aye,” he says, his smile growing more welcoming. “My family’s had this inn for generations. More than a couple of Ashari have passed through as their first stop on their journey.”

“Really?” Keyleth asks, a huge sense of relief washing over her.

“Usually though it’s at least a few decades between them,” he continues. “But it seems like it’s only been a few years since the last one came through.”

“That was my mother,” she says eagerly, moving closer to the bar. “She was here?”

“She was. She stayed for a bit over a month, made a couple of friends, took them with her when she went.”

“She was here.” She says it to herself, her mind wandering for a moment. It’s the first piece of information she’s heard about her mother since she left, the first piece of _something_. Her eyes take in the room around her as she thinks about the fact that her mother was _here,_ that she might be standing in the exact same place her mother stood dozens of times.

The halfling watches her, and after a moment says, “Tell you what. The Ashari are kind of regulars here, in a way. It’s about time we showed our appreciation. You can have the room for free for a few nights.”

Tears well up in her eyes and she blinks frantically, trying to hold them at bay. “Thank you. So much,” she whispers.

“Not at all, not at all,” he says. “Would you like some ale?”

Keyleth looks at him uncertainly. She’s never had ale before, but she knows about what it’s supposed to do to a person. It might not be a good idea, getting drunk on her quest. But it’s not like she has anything to do tonight. And she is supposed to try new things, get to know the world.

“I think I would. Thank you.”

He disappears for a moment, coming back with a large tankard of ale. “Name’s Renning, by the way.”

“Keyleth,” she says, lifting the ale to her mouth and taking a small sip. It’s not the best taste in the world, sort of stale and sharp at the same time, but she tries again, a gulp this time, and after a few tries it doesn’t taste as bad.

“The job board’s over there,” Renning says, pointing at the wall near the door. “But it’s better to check it in the morning after people’ve put up new stuff. It’s usually picked pretty bare by the end of the day.”

She nods at him, continuing to drink her ale, pleased by the way the sound around her seems to become duller and duller the longer she sits there. When she goes up the stairs, looking for the number on the door that matches the key Renning gave her, she stumbles a bit, the weight of her pack making it difficult, the edges of her vision slightly blurry. When she finds her room she sets down the pack, making sure to lock the door carefully before she plops down on the bed, enjoying how warm and light she feels as she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

Her days start to take on a sort of routine. Every morning when she looks at the job board she reads the more dangerous jobs, the jobs that offer the most money. Bounties on fugitives and monsters, protection and guard jobs. There are a few there that she knows she could probably do by herself, but eventually her eyes move past them, on to the easier jobs. People asking for help with their gardens, harvesting crops in the farms on the edges of the town, fishing in the swamp. These are the jobs she ends up taking, every day, hating herself each time.

They don’t pay much. They barely pay enough to cover her room and feed herself. Keyleth knows she needs to start taking on better paying jobs, that she needs to start saving up for her journey, but she can’t bring herself to do it, to take on a job where she’ll actually have to prove herself.

She doesn’t want to fail.

But over a month passes, and when Renning says to her, “It’s not that I don’t enjoy having you around, dear. You definitely brighten the place up. But don’t think you’d better continue your journey?”, she knows what she has to do.

Her heart pounds as she looks at the job board. A part of her knows she should be smart, that she should take on the lower paying of the potentially dangerous jobs, jobs that she knows she can handle, and take a little time to save up. But she’s stalled for so long, already feels so far behind, so she starts looking at the bigger jobs, the bounties on monsters, big monsters, that offer hundreds of gold.

She sees a job, a bounty on some kind of swamp monster, offering 300 gold. Her hand grabs for it, but collides with another hand, one covered in leather. She pulls back quickly, embarrassed, looking at the ground. “Sorry,” she mumbles.

“No worries,” the voice attached to the hand says. The voice is deep and smooth, an accent she’s not familiar with, and she finds it oddly soothing. She’s still too embarrassed to look up, though, her face turning red.

Keyleth can feel the man’s eyes studying her. “You’re interested in the Yuan-Ti job?” he asks her, his voice curious.

“I um…” she starts, pushing her hair behind her ear and fiddling with the ends. “Yes. I mean… I guess. I need the money.”

“Yuan-Ti are nothing to sneeze at,” he tells her. “Not really the kind of job you want to take on without a crew.”

She’s silent for a long moment, feeling her face turn even redder as she lets her hair fall out from behind her ear so it can form something of a curtain around her. “Well, like I said, I need the money.”

It’s silent for a moment before he says, “Do you _want_ a crew?”

Her head snaps up in surprise, finally looking at the man’s face. His smile is warm and open, but when their eyes meet his expression goes sort of slack, his eyes widening as he looks at her. His expression makes him look like he’s been stunned by something. His eyes are dark, but somehow soft and sharp at the same time. His black hair is pulled back into several braids at the base of his skull, some of it hanging over his shoulder. He’s a half-elf, a bit taller than she is, thin and lean, clad in dark colors and a lot of leather. The way he looks, Keyleth thinks he should maybe be scary, or at least a bit intimidating, but there’s something comforting in his presence, in his eyes, and she feels her nervousness and embarrassment ebbing, just a bit.

He stares at her with that look on his face, a look she can’t begin to understand, before he recovers, his eyes trailing over her Ashari markings, her circlet, the flowers in her hair. “Are you a druid?”

“Yeah,” she responds, quiet and a bit confused.

“Druids can do healing magic, right?” he asks.

“We can.” she answers. “I can.”

His smile widens. He reaches up taking the job listing for the bounty on the Yuan-Ti, and takes her hand. “Come with me.”

Keyleth lets the stranger pull her through the bar, marveling at how well he’s able to maneuver through the crowd. “My name’s Vax, by the way,” he shouts back at her.

She doesn’t respond, knows she couldn’t make her voice loud enough that he’d be able to hear her while they’re walking through the crowd. It’s not until they stop by a table at the edge of the room that she says, “I’m Keyleth,” when he turns to face her.

He’s still smiling at her as he tugs on her hand, pulling a chair out for at the table. “Come. Sit.”

Doing as she’s told, she looks around the table. She vaguely recognizes everyone, has seen them in the tavern many, many times over the past month. They all look at her expectantly, expression ranging from curious to suspicious, as Vax pulls up a chair next to her.

“Brother?” the lone woman of the group, another half elf, asks, her voice low. “Who is this?”

“This is Keyleth,” he responds. “Keyleth, this is everybody. My twin sister Vex'ahlia. The big guy is Grog. The little guy is Scanlan. And the dragon is Tiberius.”

The names fly at her so fast as she looks around the table, trying to match the names to the descriptions. They’re all still looking at her, and she’s beginning to grow uncomfortable - well, more uncomfortable - and she really has no idea what she’s doing at this table.

“Hello, Keyleth. It’s so nice to meet you,” the half-elf woman says, though there’s something to the tone of her voice that makes Keyleth think that she isn’t being entirely sincere. “Vax, what’s going on?”

“Keyleth is a druid,” Vax says simply, taking a drink of his ale, as if that explains everything.

“That’s fascinating,” the gnome says, his voice flat and dry.

Keyleth is starting to move from feeling uncomfortable to feeling embarrassed. She wants to ask what’s going on, why Vax brought her over her, but her throat almost feels like it’s swollen, like even though air is moving in and out that there’s no way she’d be able to push any words out.

“Druids have healing magic,” Vax continues. “We could really use someone else with healing magic.”

“ _I_ have healing magic,” the gnome says, seeming mildly offended.

“I know you do, buddy, and it’s great. But are you really going to tell me that we couldn’t use someone else who can do that? That fight with the gang of bullywugs rough and we came close to not making it out with all of us alive. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to have some more healing magic? Especially going up against a Yuan-Ti.”

“He isn’t wrong,” the dragonborn says.

“He really isn’t,” the goliath says, his mouth full. “And you did kind of almost die, Scanlan.”

“Exactly,” the dragonborn agrees. “Potions are useful and all, but what if we’d run out? Who would have healed you?”

“Okay, okay,” the gnome - Scanlan - says. “You guys might be right. It probably would be a good idea to have another person who can use magic to heal.”

Vax smiles at the group with a triumphant expression. “What do you say, Stubby?”

The woman’s expression is hard as she studies Keyleth. After what seems like hours she finally says. “One job.” Then she turns to Grog and Scanlan and starts to argue with them about something involving rubies and their night time activities.

When Keyleth turns to look at Vax he’s grinning at her, seeming very proud of himself. “What just happened?” she asks,  keeping her voice low.

He leans in close, keeping his voice as quiet as hers. “You just joined the party.”

* * *

Vax pays for her drinks all night, which really only amounts to two and half ales, as she sits around the table with the group, listening to them joke and argue. Eventually Vex stands from the table. “I’m going to go check on Trinket and then turn in,” she says, throwing some coins onto the table. “Everybody be ready to go at dawn.” She throws a measured, inscrutable look at Keyleth before walking away, heading toward the door of the inn.

It’s not long after she leaves that Keyleth starts to feel very pleasantly fuzzy, so when Scanlan asks her where she’s from she finds herself telling the whole story, about the Ashari, how her father is headmaster and she was chosen to follow in his footsteps, about the journey she has to complete, becoming a leader and visiting the three other Ashari tribes.

She doesn’t tell them about her mother, though. Even as happy and light as she’s feeling, that’s still too painful to share.

“So does that mean you’re royalty?” Grog asks, his eyes wide.

“No. No, no, no no no,” she says, shaking her head. “Ashari don’t really do royalty.”

“But you’ll be the leader?” Scanlan says.

“Yeah.”

“And nobody voted for you.”

“I guess not.”

“You were just chosen by the leader before you.”

“Uh huh.”

“So how are you not royalty?” Scanlan asks, his speech slurring a bit.

“I understand, milady,” Tiberius says, placing his hand on top of hers. “I, too, come from a very important house in Draconia, and it can be so important to make sure those who aren’t quite as important aren’t resentful of our position.”

“Huh?” The dragonborn man is the only one at the table not drinking, and yet Keyleth is more confused by him than anyone else.

“So what does that mean, ‘become a leader’?” Vax asks, pulling her attention away from Tiberius.

“I… ummm…. I don’t really know,” she says, giggling a bit despite the fact that she doesn’t feel like it’s very funny. “I know I have to finish the trials with each Ashari tribe, but other than that I have no idea.” She can hear her voice growing quieter and sadder as she talks, but she finds she can’t react in time to do anything about it.

The others look at her, seeming a bit uncomfortable, and her face starts to turn red again. But then she feels a hand close over hers and looks to see Vax’s leather-clad hand, resting on top of hers, and when she looks up at him his eyes are warm and comforting.

He walks her to her room a bit later, helping her up the steps. “I don’t-” she starts, hiccuping. “I don’t usually drink this much. I’ve never really drank this much. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says, his voice amused. “We were celebrating you joining the group. That’s what celebrations are for.”

“Your sister said one job,” she reminds him, stopping in front of her door.

“She’ll come around,” Vax says, leaning against the wall. “I can be very persuasive where my sister is concerned.” Keyleth looks at him doubtfully, but he smiles at her reassuringly. “Get some sleep. We’re getting up and going bright and early.”

“Okay,” she says, her voice little more than a whisper. Her eyes stay locked with his for a few moments that seem to stretch on in her fuzzy, warm state, and eventually she pushes the door open, smiling at him one last time before entering the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

When Vax walks into the room he shares with his sister, he’s surprised to find Vex still awake, sitting cross legged on the bed, a book open in front of her.

“Waiting up?” he asks, suspicious.

“Of course not,” she says, her voice too smooth and sincere to be honest. “I simply became very interested in this book.”

“Right,” he says, taking off his cloak and draping it over the desk chair.

Silent moments stretch out between them as Vax takes off his armor, preparing for bed. He can feel his sister’s eyes on him from time to time, and though he tries to ignore them, by the time he’s ready to get in to bed it’s setting his nerves right on edge.

“Out with it, Stubby. What’s your problem?”

When she doesn’t answer right away he turns to look at her, surprised by the wondering expression in her face. “What are you doing Vax?” she finally asks.

“What are you talking about?”

“With the girl,” she responds, her voice taking on a sort of duh, idiot tone. “She’s not exactly your type.”

Vax scoffs. “I don’t have a type.”

“You so do,” his sister says. “Maybe not a physical type. But you like people who are powerful in some way. 

"Powerful? Really? After our childhood you really think I'm attracted to people with power?"

"Not like, political or royal power. Not influence. The other kind of power. People who, I don't know... wield a skill well, like magic or something. Don't think I didn't see the way you were looking at those guys in Kymal who did magic for that sun god or whatever he was. You find it attractive. This girl, though… she’s a quiet, meek little thing.”

“She’s not meek, she’s just a little green,” he says, finding himself driven to defend Keyleth. “Besides, it’s not like that.”

“Then what it is it like?”

“She needs help, a group to do jobs with, and we need another person with healing magic. It just makes sense.”

Vex continues to watch him, and he becomes distinctly uncomfortable with the expression on her face, that expression she gets when she’s trying to figure a person out. He’s not used to having it aimed at him, and he finds it’s a strange feeling that makes his skin tingle, making him feel like he’s done something wrong even though he hasn’t.

“As long as that’s all it is,” Vex says after awhile. “Because she’s only staying for one job.” And with that she blows out the candle on the bed side table, turns over, and goes to sleep.

Vax lies awake in bed for a bit longer, thinking about the day ahead. He finally drifts off to sleep, and in the morning he doesn’t remember what he dreamed of, not really, beyond flashes of long red hair, mixed with vines and flowers, wrapping comfortingly around a raven.


	2. Chapter 2

Keyleth is the first one awake the next day, ready and downstairs hours before dawn. She’d only managed to sleep for a couple of hours, her nerves waking her up as the alcohol wore off, so she tried to distract herself by getting ready and making sure she was prepared for the day.

Now, though, she’s sitting at a table by a window downstairs, watching the sky turn into a light gray, her lip raw from the way her teeth have been biting at it since she woke up.

This is a mistake. She’s going to fuck it all up. Someone’s going to get hurt or she’s going to fail and they’re not going to want her. Vax will hate her.

She should just go home. Tell her father that he was wrong, that she can’t do this, that she’s not meant to be a leader. 

Her stomach turns and her muscles tense up. The thoughts are running through her head rapidly and she’s almost made the decision to flee, to lock herself in her room upstairs and pretend she’s not there, to wait until Vax and his friends have left and then start on her way back to Zephra, when Vax’s sister walks down the stairs, looking remarkably well rested.

She stops short when she sees Keyleth, the lone figure in the tavern area this early in the morning. “Well,” she says. “I see I’m not the only one who likes to get an early start.”

“You, um,” Keyleth stammers, “you said to meet at sunrise. I just… I didn’t want to be late.”

The other woman watches her for a long moment, her eyes appraising. It makes Keyleth uncomfortable, and she tries desperately to fight against the blush that’s starting to spring up on her cheeks, her shoulders hunching forward as she starts to fold in on herself.

“Come outside with me,” Vex says. “I need to feed Trinket.”

Keyleth doesn’t know what that means, but she stands as Vex walks up to the bar, grabbing a plate that’s been left there. “Thanks, Renning!” she calls out, receiving a noise of acknowledgment from the barkeep who’s in the back, preparing breakfast.

The women walk outside, Keyleth following Vex around the corner of the building into the alley. There, curled up against the wall, is a large bear. Keyleth’s eyes grow wide as she watches it raise its head as Vex comes close and places the plate on the ground.

“Hey, buddy,” Vex says, scratching the bear behind the ear. “Breakfast time.” The bear bumps his nose into her chin, a pleased rumbling sound leaving his throat, and then sets into its morning meal.

“Is this _your_ bear?” Keyleth asks, amazed at the sight of a wild beast allowing itself to be handled in such a way.

“This is Trinket,” Vex says, her voice taking on a sort of knowing tone Keyleth doesn’t understand. “Yes, we travel with a huge bear. Most people seem to think it’s weird, and he will rip a person apart if I tell him to…”

Keyleth isn’t really listening, walking up slowly toward the bear, her hand extended. The bear -Trinket - looks up at her, wary, and then sniffs at the offered hand. His eyes study her for a long moment before he nudges at her palm with his nose, running his face under her fingers so that she’ll pet him. “Hey, there,” she says, her voice soothing, bringing her other hand up to scratch at the back of his head.

“Oh,” Vex says from behind her, her voice surprised. “He likes you.”

Keyleth turns her head, looking over her shoulder at the other women. Vex is looking at her, watching Trinket lean into her touch, but the other woman’s expression isn’t as hard and cold as it had been the night before. Her eyes seem a bit softer, her posture becoming less standoffish, and Keyleth suddenly feels a little bit better about the day’s upcoming work.

* * *

The Yuan-Ti isn’t in the swamp outside of Stillbend like they’re expecting it to be. There’s a dead drawf, ripped up and bloody, his fishing pole broken in half beside him, but no Yuan-Ti.

Vex thinks she can track it, though, so they set off, a job they thought would be a day and a half at most suddenly becoming much, much longer.

Keyleth doesn’t mind walking, though. Being close to nature, feeling the sun on her skin and breeze in her hair, it makes her feel comfortable, even when she’s among people who are basically strangers to her, their conversations and friendly bickering swirling around her. She can get lost in the sounds of birds singing and the air blowing through the trees and not have to think about the fact that she doesn’t understand their inside jokes and that she doesn’t even know how she would start a conversation with any of them.

When they make camp, though, she feels an urge to prove herself useful, and she offers to take first watch. Grog and Scanlan agree readily, quickly digging into their packs to pull out their sleeping pallets.

“You don’t have to take first watch, your highness,” Tiberius says.

“I’m not royalty,” Keyleth mumbles, her voice low and embarrassed. “And I want to take first watch. I’m not tired yet.”

She’s grown used to the feeling of Vex’s eyes studying her, and this time her expression seems to be approving. At least until Vax says, “I’ll take watch, too.”

Vex’s expression changes as her eyes dart between Keyleth and her brother, narrowing in suspicion. “Fine,” she says. “Wake me up when it’s my turn.” She walks away from them, her posture stiff, and she sits on the ground, leaning into Trinket, stroking her fingers through the bear’s fur.

Keyleth and Vax settle down next to the fire. She’s surprised how much more comfortable she feels around him than she does with the rest of the party. Maybe he’s easier to talk to, maybe it’s just that he was the first one that was nice to her, but she finds her nerves calming as everyone else settles into sleep and it’s just the two of them.

He offers her his flask and she takes it, sipping back whatever’s in it, something far stronger than the ale she’s used to, and it makes her cough as it burns going down her throat. Vax smiles at her fondly as she hands it back to him and it makes her blush. She’s never received attention like this before, and she’s not sure what it means or how to respond.

“What’s it like? Doing magic?” he asks her as he tucks the flask back under his cloak.

“I don’t really know how to answer that,” she responds after thinking about it for a bit. “I’ve kind of just always been able to do it. I mean, I’ve gotten better as I learned more, but I was just sort of… born with it.”

“Vex is trying to learn some things,” he says. “Just a few things to help her with hunting and tracking, and some healing. It seems slow going, though. It’s probably harder to learn, if you didn’t grow up with it.”

“That’s probably true. Growing up with the Ashari I always had magic around me. And both of my parents were really powerful magic users.”

Vax is quiet for a long moment. “Were?” he finally asks. “Are they… gone?”

Keyleth takes in a sharp breath, suddenly realizing what she had said. She doesn’t know why she said it that way, why she used the past tense. Her father is still alive and perfectly fine, and while she hasn’t seen her mother in years, she _knows_ that she’s still alive. She has to be.

“No,” she eventually responds, her voice quiet but firm. “I don’t know why I… it’s just that… I haven’t seen my mother in a very long time.”

“Why? What happened?”

Having to think about it makes her throat tighten up, and her mouth opens and closes without any sound coming out.

“I’m sorry,” Vax says. “I didn’t mean to push. It’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s fine,” she says, and she’s a bit stunned to find that she does want to talk about it. Something about Vax’s presence is so incredibly comforting, and she feels the need to unburden herself, to share it with someone who’s offering to listen. “She was chosen to be headmaster. Before me. So she went on her Aramente but… she never came back. If she had finished, if she had come home, I never would have had to leave. I wouldn’t have to be doing any of this.”

“So do you think she’s…?” He trails off, but Keyleth knows what he means.

“No,” she says, her tone fierce. “I would know it if she was. I believe that. I’d be able to feel it. I know I would.”

“What do you think happened then?”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out. I’m going to find her.”

Vax doesn’t respond, and Keyleth feels her face redden behind the curtain of her hair. “I probably sound pretty silly,” she says. “Most people would probably accept the idea that she’s dead and just move on. I must just sound like a kid who can’t let go.”

“You don’t,” he finally says. “If I had reason to believe that my mother was still alive, any reason at all, I would never let it go.”

Her head snaps up at his words, stunned by the intense expression on his face as he looks at her. She hadn’t known that he and Vex had lost their mother, and in that moment she feels a strong connection with Vax, knowing that he understands that pain of not having a mother to be there for you, to take care of you, to protect you. Having someone not just understand that, but to understand her need to find her mother, her belief that her mother is still out there, gives her a feeling of relief she didn’t realize she needed so badly.

“Whatever the reason it happened,” Vax says, his voice quiet. Intimate, even. “I’m glad that you had to go on this quest. I never would have met you if you hadn’t.” He doesn’t look at her, his eyes on his hands, but the corner of his mouth is turned up, just a bit. “That would have truly been a shame.”

Keyleth’s heart swells with the knowledge that someone wants her around, and for the first time in her life she thinks that maybe there was a reason for everything that had happened.

She sleeps easily once their watch is over, her mind more at ease than it’s been in awhile.

* * *

The next day is rough. Vex wakes up in a sour mood, and she seems to decide to take it out on Keyleth. Most of the morning is made up of backhanded compliments and passive aggressive comments that leave Keyleth feeling pathetic and useless. Eventually Vax pulls his sister aside, far enough away that their voices don’t carry back to the group, but they’re still visible, their faces growing increasingly angry and their gestures animated.

“Don’t take it personally,” Scanlan says to Keyleth as she watches the twins. “It’s probably not really about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“They don’t really talk about it, but they’ve kind of talked _around_ it a bit. I think they spent a lot of time just by themselves when they were young. Just the two of them with only each other to depend on. I don’t think it’s easy for her, letting other people in.”

“Was she like this with you guys, too?”

“No,” he admits. “She was stand offish for awhile, but not like this.”

“So it probably is about me,” she says, her voice soft as she looks down at her feet. “At least a little.”

“Well, you are a pretty girl that her brother seems to be quite attentive to.”

“What do you mean?” Keyleth asks, turning to look at the gnome.

Scanlan shakes his head, an amused and somewhat patronizing smile on his face. “Good heavens, you’re so _innocent_.”

When the twins return Vex’s mood isn’t any better, but the jibes toward Keyleth stop for the most part, and instead she mopes in silence for the rest of the day.

At least until they lose the Yuan-Ti’s trail.

“Fuck!” Vex shouts, tossing her pack on the ground in frustration. “Motherfucker!”

“It’s not that bad,” Vax says, trying to diffuse the situation. “It couldn’t gave gotten too far ahead of us. Let’s just check the surrounding swamps.”

“There are a million fucking swamps around here, Vax,” she spits out. “If it’s not in one of the first two or three we search, then it _will_ have time, plenty of time, to get very far ahead of us.”

Grog and Scanlan are watching the fight impassively. Keyleth can tell that they’re frustrated as well, but they seem to know better than to get in between an argument with the twins. Tiberius, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be as wise.

“Perhaps we should go back and retrace our steps?” he suggests.

“Shut up, Tiberius!” both twins shout.

Keyleth doesn’t know what to do. This whole thing has turned into such a disaster, and even though she knows that there’s nothing she could have done to fix this situation, that nothing she did made them lose the trail, she can’t help but feel like this is all her fault, like it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t brought her along.

She’s pressed against a tree, trying to make herself as invisible as possible, when she sees it, a huge wolf approaching the group, its teeth bared as it watches them.

“Guys?” she says, trying to be heard over the argument without being too loud. Nobody hears her over the shouting siblings, so she clears her throat and raises her voice a bit, trying again. “Guys!”

Vax and Vex don’t hear her at all, but Scanlan does, and when he follows her eyes and sees the wolf he jumps to his feet. He’s closer to the twins, so when he says, “Guys, shut the fuck up,” they both hear him, turning to see what he’s looking at.

The whole party freezes as they look at the wolf. It’s huge, at least six feet long, all firm muscle and sharp claws and teeth. It’s growling at them, its stance and stride predatory. Trinket starts to growl back, baring his own teeth.

Keyleth reaches into her pack, pulling out a bit of the food she had brought, hoping it will be enough. Carefully, she starts to walk up to the wolf, her steps slow and cautious, her hand with the food in it outstretched.

“Keyleth, what are you doing?” Vax asks in a panicked whisper.

She shushes him, a quiet hiss of air leaving her mouth as she continues to approach the animal. It’s teeth are still bared, but it’s watching her curiously now. Closing her eyes, she calls up her magic, focusing on the wolf as she continues to move closer to it.

When she’s finally up close she extends her hand all the way, letting the wolf sniff at the food there. It scoops the morsel up into its mouth, sitting down as it chews happily. “There you go,” Keyleth says softly. “You aren’t so mean, are you?” She crouches down, just a bit, scratching the wolf’s head, stroking its fur.

“What…? How did you do that?” She hears the questions from the others behind her, but keeps her focus on the wolf, blocking everything else out.

“You want to help us, don’t you?” she murmurs to the wolf, placing her hands on either side of its head as she closes her eyes again. She uses her magic to send an image of a Yuan-Ti into its mind. A moment later she gets something back. She can see a swamp, large and dark. It looks like pretty much any other swamp, but there’s a large tree in the middle, reaching into the sky. Its branches tangle together, the leaves long gone. The roots reach through the swamp, creating a network of bridges and paths through the water and mud.

Keyleth opens her eyes, scratching the wolf between the ears one last time. “That’s a good boy. You go on now.”

The wolf nudges at her cheek with its nose affectionately, making her smile, before it turns and walks away, disappearing into the forest. She watches it go before straightening up and turning to the others.

“The Yuan-Ti is in a swamp with a huge old tree in the middle. It’s old and dead so there are no leaves and the roots are so long and big that they’re basically bridges.”

“I know the swamp,” Vex says, looking at Keyleth with confusion. “It’s not too far from here.”

“How did you know that?” Vax asks, his expression just as confused as his sister’s but mixed with a bit of awe and wonder.

“The wolf told me,” Keyleth says simply, wrapping her arms around herself as she begins to feel very uncomfortable with the attention the rest of the group is paying her.

After what feels like years of silence, Vex finally says, “Okay. Good work. Let’s go.” She turns away then, heading off toward the east, and the rest of the group follows her. Vax, though, falls into step with Keyleth, a smile on his face.

“That was really impressive.”

“Thanks,” she says, pushing her hair behind her ear and smiling, pleased that Vax is impressed with her. “Talking to animals like that is just kind of what I do.”

“It was really cool,” he insists. “You kind of saved us. In more way than one.”

“Really, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Hey.” His hand grasps hers, stopping her for a second. “You did something amazing. It’s okay to acknowledge it.”

Keyleth is silent as she meets his eyes, her breath catching at the sincerity she sees there. “Okay,” she says, and the smile that he gives her before he lets go of her hand to start off after the others makes her heart pound against her ribs.

* * *

The fight is harder than she’d imagined it would be.

To start with, there’s not just one Yuan-Ti, but two, and they’re bigger than she’d thought they’d be, their serpentine bodies thick and strong, moving them about the swamp quickly. Not only are they both wielding weapons, a sword for one and a bow for the other, but their teeth are sharp and they show no fear of getting close enough to bite, and their strong bodies serve more purpose than just movement. Keyleth watches in fear as one of them wraps around Vex, squeezing tightly, until Grog lunges forward, driving his axe into its body, making it scream out in pain as it lets go.

For the first time in her life, Keyleth thinks that she might die.

She feels useless, like she can’t do anything to help, and her mind is muddled, her head aching where she took a hard blow, her arm bleeding from being swiped at with the creature’s sword. The fog she cast earlier had helped a little bit, allowing Vex to move to a new position, giving her a few hits on one of the monsters before it was able to get to her, but the poison Keyleth had conjured to throw at the one with the bow had missed, and she feels like she’s floundering, desperately trying to think of something she can do.

Grog is all out wailing on one of the monsters, Scanlan standing a ways behind him, singing a song to which she can’t make out the words. Keyleth sees Vex nearby, kneeling on the ground, her leg bloody and limp. _I can do this at the very least_ , she thinks, raising her hands and closing her eyes as she casts a healing spell on the other woman.

Vex’s posture straightens as the magic flows through her, the wound in her leg mending. She stands up, looking over to Keyleth. Their eyes meet, and Vex nods at her in thanks before moving to a new position, pulling out an arrow, and firing.

Keyleth looks around again, finding Tiberius, who’s shooting magic missiles at both creatures, but not having much luck. Her eyes scan the swamp for Vax, panicking when she can’t find him anywhere. Finally her eyes land on him,  only about 25 feet around from her. He’s crouched on one of the roots, clutching at a bleeding wound in his side. She starts to move toward him on instinct when she sees the Yuan-Ti, the one with the sword, come out of the water behind him, raising its weapon above its head. In an instant of panic, Keyleth doesn’t think, she just pushes her hands forward, a huge, heavy gust of wind practically coming out of her body. The creature tries to maintain its footing but it’s pushed away from Vax, stumbling to its side before falling backwards into the water.

Somwhere behind her, Keyleth can hear Grog let out a triumphant shout as the Yuan Ti he’s fighting screams out, a blood curdling noise, and then falls silent. But she only just registers it as she watches the serpent she’d pushed away rise from the water. Her fear and anger builds up inside of her and she pushes her hands out again, this time amazed and stunned when a ball of fire leaves them, rolling quickly toward the monster. It’s only just climbed out of the water when it notices the flaming sphere coming toward it, and doesn’t have enough time to move away. They collide, the Yuan-Ti screaming as flames engulf its body.

The silence that follows sounds strange to her ears, and she stands there, the shock at what she just did holding her still for a long moment before she snaps back into the moment, rushing forward to Vax, falling to her knees beside him. “Are you okay?”

“You saved my life,” he says, looking up at her in awe.

“No, I…” she stop, not knowing how to respond, her eyes moving to the wound in his side, blood still spilling out of it. “You’re still hurt,” she whispers, blinking back tears.

“I’ve had worse,” he says, his voice pained, though she thinks he’s trying to keep it light.

“Really?” she asks.

“Well, no,” he confesses, smiling a bit. “But it’s still not that…”

His voice trails off as Keyleth brings her hand to his face, stroking his cheek as she looks at him for a moment. Her eyes drift closed and Vax can feel the magic flowing through him as she casts a healing spell, her touch warming his skin and mending his wound.

“There,” she whispers, opening her eyes. “Good as new.”

“Thank you,” he says back, just as quiet.

Keyleth holds his gaze for a moment longer before standing up, offering her hand to him. He takes it, and she helps to pull him up as he grasps at his side. She worries that maybe she didn’t do the spell right, that she didn’t heal him enough, but he lets go of it, moving nimbly enough that she can tell it’s fine. Vax doesn’t let go of her hand once he’s on his feet, and she looks at him, confused, as his eyes sweep over her face. Her breath catches in her throat as he steps toward her, and she doesn’t understand the feeling of hope and anticipation that’s swelling in her chest.

At that moment she feels thin arms wrapping around her from behind as a form slams into her, squeezing at her shoulders. “You were amazing, Keyleth!” It’s Vex’s voice in her ear, happy and pleased in a way that Keyleth has never heard from the other woman. It makes her smile grow wide across her face as Vex pulls back, turning Keyleth to face her. “We are _so_ keeping you.”

“Really,” Vax says, his voice warm, quieter than his sister’s. “That was incredible.”

“I didn’t even know I could do that, actually,” Keyleth says, laughing a bit awkwardly.

“She has hidden depths!” Vex says. “I can’t wait to see what other cool stuff you can do.”

That makes Keyleth feel nervous again, the idea of having to live up to what she just did when she doesn’t even know if she can even do _that_ again. But she looks at the faces of the rest of the party, the way they’re smiling at her, how impressed Grog and Tiberius look, the wide, relieved grins of Vex and Scanlan, and the soft gaze that Vax has focused on her, thankful and amazed all at once, and she lets the sense of acceptance and approval from the rest of the group wash over her and chase away the fears and doubts for awhile.

Scanlan writes a song about her on the way back to town that makes her smile and blush, and Grog shares his ale with her when they settle down to camp. Tiberius tells her stories of Draconia as they sit around the fire, and when she says goodnight to Vex, the other woman actually smiles at her, a happy grin that comes with an easy wink that makes Keyleth giddy.

And Vax, whose soft gaze Keyleth feels on her all night, has a warm smile for her every time their eyes meet. They pass his flask back and forth between them when they take watch, and he tells her about the early days he and his sister spent on their own, about learning how to pick pockets and slip through crowds, about the day Vex came back to camp with a bear cub, and he laughs as he explains how they ended up in Stillbend, how they first met Grog, Scanlan, and Tiberius.

When she falls asleep, her head against his shoulder, he doesn’t wake her, instead draping his cloak over her to keep her from getting cold. She dreams of warm embraces, the sounds of happy laughter, and a strong, steady hand, covered in leather and holding hers, keeping her safe and grounded, helping her roots grow and turning the sun her way.

* * *

  
Vex collapses back onto the bed when she and Vax return to their room in Stillbend, sighing at the feeling of a soft mattress under her back. “We really should have got more than 300 gold. It was supposed to be one day’s work and it ended up being way more than that. And we had to fight two of them! There was only supposed to be one but we took on two! But that jerk still thinks he shouldn’t have to pay us any more than 300 gold? Ridiculous.”

When Vax doesn’t respond, she sits up, looking at him, her brow furrowing in confusion at the smug way he’s look at her. “What?”

“I think there’s something you should be saying to me,” he tells her, pushing away from the wall he’s leaning against.

“And what would that be?”

“Just repeat after me,” he says, coming to stand in front of her. “Just say, ‘You were right’.”

His sister just watches him, unamused.

“Come on,” he says, bringing his hand up to grasp her cheeks between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing to make her mouth move. “'You were right about Keyleth,’” he says, making his voice high and feminine as he forces her lips to open and close.

“Stop that,” she says, slapping his hand away. “Yes, you were right. She’s incredibly useful.”

“I told you so.”

“And she’s very nice,” Vex continues. “I like her.”

A gentle smile slowly crawls over her brother’s face. “I like her, too.”

“Yeah, I know you do.” Her voice is flat, a knowing tone to it that has him shooting her a quizzical expression.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I just… I hope you know what you’re doing.”

"What do you mean?" he asks, distracted as he takes off his cloak.

"I  _was_ wrong. She's not some meek little thing. Keyleth. She has a lot of power under all that awkwardness."

“Vex'ahlia. What are you talking about?”

She grunts in frustration. “Scanlan told me about the journey. The quest or whatever. That her father is like, the ruler of her people and that once she finishes she’ll take over that role. That she’s druid royalty or something.”

“Yeah. I know,” Vax replies, her explanation doing nothing to help him understand what she’s getting at.

“She’s not going to be with us forever. She’s going to finish this _thing_ she’s doing and then go off and be queen or whatever. I’m just saying. Her destiny is much bigger than a ragtag group of mercenaries and thieves. I just want you to be careful.”

Her brother’s gaze drops to the floor, and he’s silent and still for a long time. Finally, he moves toward his bed. “She’s not royalty,” he says, his voice quiet.

“That’s not the point,” Vex says.

Vax kicks off his shoes and leans back on the bed, his hand behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling. “Really, Vex. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I hope that’s true.”

He turns his head to look at her, his eyes focusing on hers. “It’s not like that. It really isn’t. She’s sweet. I like her. She’s a valuable addition to the group. And I hope that I can call her a friend. But that’s it.”

“Good,” Vex says. “Because that’s all it ever can be.”

She watches him for a moment longer before turning over, her back to him. After awhile he can hear her breathing, heavy and even, and he knows that she’s fallen asleep.

Vax pushes himself off of the bed, grunting in frustration, a frustration he doesn’t really understand, and leaves the room. Drinking himself into oblivion sounds good right about now, so he heads down the hall toward the stairs.

When he walks into the tavern there are a few groups of people about, the night-time rush having not yet started. In the corner he spots Grog and Scanlan at their usual table, casks of ale in front of them, just like pretty much every other night.

This time, though, a smiling, laughing Keyleth sits between them, her eyes bright and her cheeks red and glowing.

She’s beautiful.

When she sees him her eyes brighten even more, and she waves him over excitedly, her smile wide and happy.

Vax takes a deep breath, pushing down that swell of something that’s rising up in his chest, around his heart, shoving it into a little box and putting a heavy lid on it. He wills himself not to think of it as he walks toward his friends, trying instead to focus on the song Scanlan is singing and the warm feeling being with his friends gives him.

This is good. This is enough.


	3. Epilogue

Keyleth rolls over, pressing herself close to Vax as his arms wrap around her, his hold on her tight and warm. They still have things they have to do. They still have to go to the Nine Hells to end Hotis once and for all and find a way to fight Orcus. But without the threat of the Chroma Conclave hanging over their heads every second of every day, they finally feel like they can relax. For Vax and Keyleth that means lazy mornings in bed together, slipping in and out of sleep as their limbs tangle together, lips brushing together, hands stroking through hair and over skin as they lie in there, sinking into the feeling of just being together.

Vax presses a kiss to Keyleth’s temple. “I love you,” he whispers into her ear, pulling her closer with a hand at the small of her back.

“Mmm,” she hums out, turning her face up to look at him. “I love you, too.”

The way she’s looking up at him reminds him of the first time he met her, the awkward girl hiding behind a curtain of hair, her arms wrapped around herself protectively, and the way his heart had skipped a beat when she’d finally looked up at him.

“Do you remember the day we met?” he asks, his voice soft, not wanting to disturb the quiet of the room.

Keyleth laughs, burying her face in his chest. “Oh, gods. I was so awkward. I don’t know what I was thinking, that I could handle a Yuan-Ti by myself.”

“You know,” Vax says in between kisses pressed to her forehead, “I think I was in denial for a really long time because I thought that you had this huge destiny that I couldn’t be a part of. That you were going to become something, have a destiny that was bigger than me and anything I could do.”

She looks up at him, her face becoming sad at hearing his words. “My destiny could never be bigger than you. You’re a part of it. A huge part of it. You always have been and you always will be.”

“I know,” he whispers, stroking his fingers over her cheek. “I realize that now. It took me a long time. I realized a while ago that I was wrong, that destiny brought us together.”

“What do you mean?”

“That day at the inn,” Vax starts, his fingers running through her hair. “When I was going up to the job board a small fight broke out. Just a little thing. An orc got shoved backward into me and I fell into a table. Got someone’s plate of food all over me. I had to go back upstairs and change my cloak and boots.”

Keyleth’s eyes widen. “If that hadn’t happened…”

“I would have gotten to the board a few minutes earlier. I would have grabbed that job and gone back to the table. I never would have met you.” He lets out a chuckle. “And I probably would have died.”

A tear rolls down Keyleth’s cheek as she leans up to press her lips to his. The kiss is long and sweet, and they don’t pull apart until they have to, the need for air making their lungs burn.

“You’re my destiny,” Vax says, pressing his forehead against hers. “You always have been.”

“And you’re mine,” she says. “I never would have survived if I hadn’t found you. You brought me to the others. You made me feel useful. Meeting you pulled me out of my fear. Started me along on my Aramente. You gave me a family.”

He blinks back tears, kissing her again as Keyleth’s hand slides up his back, her hand settling into its match between his shoulder blades, pressing against it as she pulls herself into him so they can feel each other’s hearts beating.

Keyleth listens to Vax’s breathing, marveling at everything that had happened in her life since she had left Zephra. She remembers that day she had left, walking down the mountain, away from her home, away from her father, the tears falling down her cheeks. In that moment she hadn’t even thought she’d finish her Aramente. The fact that she’d not only completed her quest but also found friends, helped save the world, and fell in love… it’s something that she still can’t quite believe when she stops to think about it, and sometimes she wonders if this is all a dream, if she’s still asleep on that first night she’d camped in the forest, that at any moment she’ll wake up back at the beginning.

But then Vax’s lips brush against her temple, his fingers running through her hair as his palm strokes down her side, his breath sliding over her skin as he whispers, “I love you,” into her ear, and she knows it’s real, that this isn’t a dream because it’s better than any dream she could ever have. It’s where she’s supposed to be, happy with Vax, with her family, no matter what.

It’s her destiny.


End file.
